Harvard says no to Trump's demands and loses $2 billion in funding
Harvard refuses government deal, joins wider university pushback (Illustrative photo: Getty Images)
Amid growing tensions with the White House, Harvard University has refused to comply with federal demands, leading to the freezing of over $2 billion in grant funding, reports CNN.
On Monday, the Trump administration froze more than $2 billion in long-term grants and $60 million in contracts after Harvard declined to meet conditions related to federal investigations into antisemitism and racial discrimination.
Harvard President Alan M. Garber stated, "We have informed the administration through our legal counsel that we will not accept their proposed agreement."
The university reaffirmed its stance, emphasizing that it will not surrender its "independence or constitutional rights."
Harvard is one of the first institutions to openly challenge the administration, but other universities across the country are now facing the same dilemma: comply with the demands or risk losing critical funding.
Columbia, Princeton, and others under pressure
Columbia University saw $400 million in funding suspended after the government determined it had not done enough to address antisemitism.
Despite outlining a reform plan, Acting President Claire Shipman stated that the university would reject any conditions "where the government dictates what we teach, what we research, or who we hire."
Princeton University had $210 million in grants from NASA, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy frozen.
President Christopher Eisgruber called the administration’s actions "the greatest threat to American universities since the Red Scare of the 1950s."
Meanwhile, Cornell and Northwestern were both caught off guard when over $1.7 billion in funding was abruptly suspended.
Northwestern warned that vital medical research — including the development of the world’s smallest pacemaker — is now at risk.
Cornell reported receiving more than 75 stop-work orders from the Department of Defense and has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Energy over a separate round of budget cuts.
As legal battles and negotiations unfold, the academic community is experiencing a chilling shift that extends beyond funding.
Just days earlier, two American scientists withdrew from a major evolution study, fearing political retaliation — a stark reminder that academic freedom is now under threat on multiple fronts.
